Job-seekers: skills after living abroad

Are you back from a long trip? now what?

We all face the time when we are back, and as a job-seekers finding a job after living abroad, can be a huge hurdle…

Job-seekers don’t worry I got you covered with the skills you can impress to your interviewers!!

I felt compelled to write about something positive and realistic because I have been there and I know that it can be quite tricky to get a job after travelling, hence I really hope this is of value to you.

Put those skills in action

Job seekers: to how many people you have talked to? maybe you helped others, volunteered, I am sure you have learnt lots of valuable things along your way!

When you come back to your hometown rather than thinking you will always be single because it is impossible to find someone like you, ( I feel the same sometimes!) Think about which job-seeking skills you have gained.

If you are back home deep down you feel that you want to discover, face challenges and interact with the entire world (and Monkeys if possible).

I will share with you what I have learnt and can put into practice in my marketing career:

– Haggling>> sales-marketing/negotiation skills

This leads to knowing “negotiation skills”, putting in your customer’s shoes will definitely set you apart from the competition.

A good example is when I have been in situations such as negotiating the price of veggies or my accommodation, telling the vendor that you saw them cheaper somewhere else…those situations make you a marketing person unintentionally!

Yes!

You can manage and negotiate the best for both parties, this is a very valuable skill for job-seekers that know how to get what they want with the right attitude.

Thus, haggling is a very useful and attractive skills, especially if you want to have your own business or work online.

Skills like haggling are very useful and attractive if you want to have your own business specially or work in the online marketing field.

– Managing unexpected changes>>keep calm under pressure job-seekers

With the hectic rhythm of life and expectations, a rule of gold is to keep calm under stress.

Finally, there are always moments of tension and disagreement, but the best way to manage those is learning to keep calm as you don’t want to throw all your efforts saying something you did not mean to, and possibly to the wrong person such as a client or colleague.

– Making friends at the hostel>> job-seekers networking skills

Indeed, by staying in hostels you become a networking person, starting a conversation, asking or giving advice to other backpackers makes you a person that knows how and when to listen or talk.

I think you learn more “to listen” which is key for networking and connect with like-minded individuals.

– Being by myself in a foreign city-town>> self-confidence as a golden job-seeker skill

I can’t describe how nervous I was the first time I arrived in the huge city of London, scary as hell!

Because, travelling with someone is different than do it alone by yourself.

Consequently, the result is that as a time pass by you realize that being alone in a foreign land isn’t that bad at all. You even become a more self-confident person and crave more time alone.

Applying this as a job-seeker means that whatever situation you meet you will manage it with self-confidence, trusting in yourself and knowing to whom approach and ask for wise advice.

– To improvise – always have a backup plan job-seekers!

We live in a world that is changing constantly, therefore change is part of our lives, If you are prepared the better, coz things can change very quickly, so I always make sure I have a backup plan.

A good example is when I went to Germany, I have savings that I could use to come back to England and start again from zero and plan my trips again.

Most of all, as a job-seeker, do reflect this in your interview and CV, It will make you look different, use different situations you have gone through and summarize the most important ones.

Hence why is important to have a backup for all your files if the computer breaks down, sent to your email all the documents that are vital to your work, etc.

– Research, Research and Research job-seekers

This one is the top most important I have learnt when I went to Germany.

I did not know that Frankfurt, is one of the most expensive cities in Germany so I did not bring enough savings to be able to live for at least 3 months until I find a job there, hence why I think is important to research about the places you want to go and live.

Living abroad is great to get a real perspective of potential careers you would like to pursue, use wisely your experience and make it meaningful.

Thus, look for diverse sources of information, for example, never only rely on what others said, go and do your research, Google is still free so take advantage of it friends!